Journal of Berry Research

Background: The phytochemical content of blueberries, particularly anthocyanins and other polyphenols is of increasing importance to researchers in the field of food and health, because they are thought to be largely responsible for the health benefits of this popular fruit. Objective: To determine the potential for selective breeding of blueberries to produce high-polyphenol and particularly, high anthocyanin cultivars, while retaining desirable traits such as high yield, disease-resistance and large fruit. Methods: Comparison of content data for the anthocyanin and polyphenol classes of phytochemicals, in blueberries, between a comprehensive collection of literature reports and data from the New Zealand blueberry breeding programme. Results: There was a wide range of variation in anthocyanin and total polyphenol content both between cultivars in a given growing region and within the same cultivar, when grown in different regions. Experience from the New Zealand breeding programme suggests that selection based on critical agronomic traits, such as yield, or fruit size, but not including anthocyanin content, tends towards a marked reduction in this trait. Conclusions: There is potential to selectively breed cultivars with high anthocyanin content, but it appears that this trait must be included in the selection parameters, if it is to be maintained or enhanced.

Strawberry cultivars in current commercial use have a very narrow genetic base and reduced morphological and genetic diversity that puts them at risk from disease and climate change. Germplasm collections hold examples of the agricultural biodiversity of small berries where they are conserved, characterized and made available to breeders to improve productivity. Phenological evaluations of existing strawberry cultivars provide information for use by breeders in developing cultivars with improved qualities and more diverse genetic background. Leaves, flowers and fruits are the most important morphological descriptors for identification of strawberry cultivars. A comprehensive catalogue of descriptors drawn up by UPOV and IPGRI served as the basis for evaluation of 108 cultivars in a field trial. Each plot consisted of 21 one-year-old plants per genotype and plants were evaluated once with a range of descriptors; 10 of plant and leaf morphology, 7 of the flower and 25 of the fruit. On the basis of this comprehensive evaluation and data analysis, eighteen primary descriptors (plant, leaf, flower and fruit characteristics) independent of cultivation effects were selected for a large screening. Further descriptors for yield, inner fruit quality and disease resistance should be used as secondary descriptors as they are more environmentally influenced. These descriptors were proposed as appropriate primary and secondary descriptors for the European GENBERRY project of the cultivated strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.).

This experiment was conducted to generate up-to-date, practical and location specific information for soilless strawberry production in Cyprus. Commercial ‘fresh’ strawberry plants (Fragaria × ananassa Duch) of three cultivars (‘Camarosa’, ‘Festival’, and ‘Ventana’) were cultivated from October 2010 to June 2011, using coco-substrates from three different brands (BVB, Wonder Soil, Pelemix) in a 2 levels-pyramid layout. Harvesting started in January and lasted until June. The total yield obtained was similar in all cultivars and of about 439 g plant⁻¹. However, with ‘Ventana’ and ‘Festival’ ‘extra’ category fruits and berry mass were advanced. Early yield (Jan–April) was higher in‘Festival’compared with‘Camarosa’and ‘Ventana’ was in between. Amount of water consumed to produce one kg of fruit fresh weight (WUE), was lower in ‘Ventana’ and ‘Festival’ compared to ‘Camarosa’. No differences were observed in productive characteristics, early yield and WUE according to the substrate. Regarding quality, fruits of ‘Festival’ and ‘Ventana’ retained higher soluble solids to acid ratio, where as fruits of ‘Camarosa’ performed higher levels of bioactive compounds. The results from this study suggest ‘Festival’ and ‘Ventana’ as interesting alternative cultivars.

In this study, we quantified anthocyanin (ANC), proanthocyanidin (PAC), and chlorogenic acid (CA) concentrations in wild blueberry fruit (WBB) exposed to a variety of postharvest handling practices relevant to consumers and to industry. Additionally, we analyzed the bioactive potential of WBB subjected to common culinary preparations such as baking, boiling, and microwaving. Levels of ANC, PAC, and CA in individually quick frozen (IQF) WBB that had been subjected to temperature fluctuations, which are often encountered during distribution and handling for retail sales, dropped by approximately 8, 43, and 60%, respectively, compared to an IQF WBB composite that was stored continuously from harvest at −80°C. Baking IQF WBB reduced ANC, PAC, and CA concentrations by 11.2, 14.6, and 10.6%, respectively, and boiling decreased ANC, PAC, and CA concentrations by a minimum of 7.4, 14.4, and 36.8%, respectively. Microwaving IQF WBB for 1 minute increased ANC concentrations by 12.9% but exposure to 3 and 5 minutes resulted in significant decreases (29.8 and 81.6%, respectively). PAC concentrations in IQF WBB exposed to microwaves for 1, 3, and 5 minutes decreased by 14.3, 5.4, and 87.1%, respectively, whereas CA concentrations were not significantly impacted. At a concentration of 25 μg/ml, baked and boiled IQF WBB extracts maintained the ability to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) in SH-SY5Y cells. Extracts of WBB that were microwaved for 1 or 3 minutes retained bioactivity in our model for inflammation, while those microwaved for 5 minutes were unable to inhibit LPS-induced ROS.

The Pacific Northwest in North America, Russia, and Eastern Europe are three major regions of commercial raspberry production worldwide. In British Columbia, Canada, most raspberries are produced for machine harvesting and processing, while some are selected for the fresh market. Due to increasing public awareness of the benefits of consuming antioxidants for improving human health, breeding of functional foods based on phytochemical composition pyramided with other economically important traits in raspberry is desirable. In this study, genotypes of raspberry destined for the fresh market or processing were each investigated for ascorbic acid and anthocyanin compositions. Variations in these compositional traits were assessed along three consecutive years as well as among three sites in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. There was a wide range of ascorbic acid contents among fruits from different genotypes with a trend among sample years that appeared to be dependent on seasonal temperatures. For two cultivars, eight different anthocyanins were identified, where the rest of the cultivars contained from four to six. Growing conditions influenced anthocyanin levels, while the profiles stayed consistent. Results from this study can aid in selections by geneticists for crosses to improve antioxidant traits through breeding of new raspberry genotypes.